Favourite Tenor

[franz65]

What's your favourite tenor?
Who would you recommend to listen to ? - maybe something for beginners
or some tenors, that everyone should know?

[knight66]

Jussi Bjoerling was a remarkable singer and made many discs that are admired long after his death. He had a round, golden tone. He could sing in Verdi and Puccini.

Jon Vickers; his voice is altogether different, slightly husky perhaps. He sang the heroic Italian roles and Wagner. He was ultra expressive, a great actor.

You can find them on Youtube and see if they hit the spot for you.

Mike

[mc ukrneal]

There are many really fine voices to recommend over history. Some have more of a reputation in lieder (like Gura) or in opera (Domingo/Pavarotti), though most do some of both (to varying degrees). If you are looking to explore a number of different singers, I'd look to start with a compilation that lets you hear a number of different voices (which allows you to then choose which you like most). Something like this:
[asin]B000007OTX[/asin]

Many of the names there were stars in their own time, such as Pavarotti, Domingo, Bjorling, Bergonzi, Stefano, di Stefano, de Monaco, etc.  But the problem with this list is it misses out on numberous singers of German, Russian and other language operas/songs. This would include singers like Wunderlich, Jerusalem, Heppner, etc. It also misses out on more recent singers (including Alagna, Villazon, Florez, etc.) and earlier period singers (baroque period singers for example, some of whom may specialize).

Someone who really is interested in this subject could probably easily throw out 50-60 names just to get you going. Is there somethng of particular interest for you? Are you looking more for names or rcommendations of operas/lieder/live performances/recitals/etc?

[franz65]

Well, I' m generally gratefull for all those names.

I'm interested also in the names of other singers, like mc ukrneal said, not from Itally maybe...
My wife comes from Poland, and I wanted to know a little bit more about German, Polish singers. Any ideas?
Maybe someone we could hear live on stage.

As for Domingo, I heard some negative opinions on his technique and voice, but I'm not an expert inthis subject.

[mc ukrneal]

Well, I' m generally gratefull for all those names.

I'm interested also in the names of other singers, like mc ukrneal said, not from Itally maybe...
My wife comes from Poland, and I wanted to know a little bit more about German, Polish singers. Any ideas?
Maybe someone we could hear live on stage.

As for Domingo, I heard some negative opinions on his technique and voice, but I'm not an expert inthis subject.

Domingo is at the end of his career, and so his voice has lost some of what he had, though he has usually been pretty good. I have not heard him these past couple of years, so perhaps he's losing it even more. But at his height (and for many years), he had a gorgeous voice. He's a smart singer, so even though he could not always reach the high very highest notes cleanly, he usually had a very clear conception for the character and drama (as a whole). He was fantastic in a number of roles, but I guess his signature role was Otello, though he has taken on an unusually large range of roles.

There are many wonderful German tenors in history. For more recent tenors, I would take a look for Gura. I particularly like him for lieder and such, but he just has a beautiful voice. Well worth exploring (and I assume he tours, so you should be able to find him in multiple recitals and productions). You might also look for Christophe Pregardien and Jonas Kaufmann. And Jan Kobow.

As to modern day Polish tenors, that is a bit more difficult. I haven't heard any of them (and perhaps someone will know more), but you could look for Arnold Rutkowski or Piotr Beczala. The wiki for Rutkowski shows that he will be in a production of Madame Butterfly in Dusseldorf in April-July and a production of Traviata in Warsaw in June.

[Karolina]

You have chosen great names of German and Polish singers.
If your wife is from Poland I will also recommend to you Arnold Rutkowski - lovely voice

There you go: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arnold-Rutkowski/257161111044944

As for German singers, Jonas Kaufman should be also a geat choice for you.

Mc ukrneal you're such an helpful person, so nice of you. I have found something for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rBhkSrWGnM

[mc ukrneal]

You have chosen great names of German and Polish singers.
If your wife is from Poland I will also recommend to you Arnold Rutkowski - lovely voice

There you go: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arnold-Rutkowski/257161111044944

As for German singers, Jonas Kaufman should be also a geat choice for you.

Mc ukrneal you're such an helpful person, so nice of you. I have found something for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rBhkSrWGnM

It's great to get confirmation. I had discovered Rutkowski's voice by accident, and thought it quite good.

[Karolina]

Well, the greatest things were discovered by accident.
Arnold Rutkowski is considered to be the best tenor in Poland.
I had the pleasure to hear him last year - impressive!

[mc ukrneal]

Well, the greatest things were discovered by accident.
Arnold Rutkowski is considered to be the best tenor in Poland.
I had the pleasure to hear him last year - impressive!

Lucky you! And welcome to the forum!

[Tsaraslondon]

When it comes to sheer beauty of sound, the golden voiced Fritz Wunderlich takes some beating. Too bad he died so young, and that much of his Italian and French repertoire is sung in German.

I'd second votes for Jon Vickers  ( for his intensity and individual tone) and Bjoerling for the sheer silvery beauty of his voice.

[Karolina]

I found Rutkowski's performance from Moscow on ytb, if you're still interested

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d-3bymd_wo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR1oMOJNSgw

hope you'll enjoy it !

[franz65]

Oh a lovely performance. I'll see him with my wife in Warsaw soon - thanks to mc ukrneal and Karolina, you convinced me !
I think we will enjoy him 

[zamyrabyrd]

I found Rutkowski's performance from Moscow on ytb, if you're still interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d-3bymd_wo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR1oMOJNSgw

I don't know much about Rutkowski but from the little I heard here, this is not quite "it". He is flat at times and there is not a lot of elegance in production. It could also have to do with the rather poor recording.

As for supplying a list of tenors, I would rather quantify them by who sang with open production on the top and who didn't. I prefer covering in high notes for any voice type. Those who sang spread at the top like di Stefano lost their voices early. (The same goes for women, too.)

I second the Wunderlich recommendation, plus Bjorling, Kraus and Gigli for tenors of the previous generation. The Pav was in a class by himself.

ZB

[zamyrabyrd]

It's interesting to compare performers in one particular composition.
Here are three great singers in Lenski's aria from Eugene Onegin.

Fritz Wunderlich sings the aria in German, 50 years ago - an example of his refinement and intensity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaEHmZAG-zo&feature=related

A remarkable rarity here, Giuseppe di Stefano, also in1962, live performance in Italian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgXWL2suh8&feature=related

I love this clip from 1935 with the lyric Sergei Lemeshev right in the heart of Russia. The staging and approach are similar to the later Wunderlich performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv3NR1ZpVGE&feature=related

ZB

[knight66]

Interesting. To my ears Wunderlich gives the most pleasure. I was surprised at the Russian singer. I don't think his voice is properly integrated. Hardly two notes together are placed similarly. He also seems self conscious in his phrasing, whereas Wunderlich makes to all sound natural rather than artful.

I am never fond of di Stefano, though he makes the musical line make musical sense.

Mike

[Slezak]

  The Danish tenor, Helge Roswaenge, was quite outstanding, excelling in everything from Mozart to Wagner, and also was a superb operetta singer. You might try him out.  SS

[mc ukrneal]

Interesting. To my ears Wunderlich gives the most pleasure. I was surprised at the Russian singer. I don't think his voice is properly integrated. Hardly two notes together are placed similarly. He also seems self conscious in his phrasing, whereas Wunderlich makes to all sound natural rather than artful.

I am never fond of di Stefano, though he makes the musical line make musical sense.

Mike

I like the Russian very much. His diction is good. He has the spirit of the music captured quite well. Wunderlich simply has a more beautiful sound, and is better recorded too. For me, the Russian singer was very good at conveying fate, angst, and emotion. I guess, as you would expect, the Russian is just...well...more Russian!

Another to enjoy, Nicolai Gedda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mJyjq8JNAI&feature=related

Edit: and I found the one I was really looking for - Kozlovsky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjGVNWG7T04. He starts to really sing at around 1.30 or so.

[knight66]

My problem with the initial Russian is his voice production. Gedda is really superb. Surely he is a singer who should be more celebrated.

Mike

[Xenophanes]

What's your favourite tenor?
Who would you recommend to listen to ? - maybe something for beginners
or some tenors, that everyone should know?

There have been many really good tenors, and every once in a while, I find someone I didn't know, such as the Lithuanian tenor, Virgilijus Noreika.

As for the greatest tenors of the last century, there are always Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, and Jussi Bjoerling, and for a heldentenor, Lauritz Melchior.  I have nothing against the Three Tenors, Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras, all of who were extremely good, but I don't think they were quite in the same class.

On the other hand, there are many really competent singers who many times outperform the greatest voices of the century in various roles. OK, so Caruso did the best Vesti la giubba from Pagliacci; Gigli did the best Ah! Non me ridestar (Pourquoi me reveiller) from Manon; Bjoerling was in the best Boheme ever recorded; Melchior did the best most anything in Wagner; and so on.   

But then, who could possibly top Richard Crooks in the dream aria from Manon, or in a different way, Richard Verreau? Jan Peerce was terrific as Don Jose in Carmen with Rise Stevens. For Comfort Ye and Every Valley from Messiah, some think the classic recordings are by Aksel Schiotz.

Of course, that's a different question than who are my favorite tenors.  That has to do not only with competence but some affinity with their style and perhaps, which ones I heard when I was growing up.  I must say I enjoy listening to Richard Crooks, who besides singing very well was often a great interpreter, who was able to shade and color his voice appropriately. I had better start out with a spectacular aria before getting into the tender stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x2gTSOf0x0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KX1a6s3UVE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpII60yELmg

Gigli was one of the great tenors of the century. His early recording of the big aria from Massenet's Werther seems to me to be not only vocally stunning but an appropriate interpretation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KYdsFmj36U

Then there are selections from Verdi's La Traviata. My older brother once remarked, "It's like instead of talking, he sings."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hJyHKQ_ZNw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMFiS1vbCno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkwG9lHvi18

Of course, in a few months or so, I might find myself listening to a lot of Bjoerling, Peerce, Melchior, Wunderlich, Noreika or some of the others mentioned. Who knows? But much as I like tenors, much as i would like to be a tenor, in fact, i am a robust baritone, so I tend to listen a lot to those with lower voices.  Of course, I would like to be a real bass, too, instead of a dime a dozen baritone.  I like Leonard Warren, George London, Ezio Pinza, Cesare Siepi, John Shirley-Quirk, and Jerome Hines, among others.

[Guido]

Fritz Wunderlich is so wunderlich. So glad I checked him out after reading this thread... probably the most beautiful tenor sound I've ever heard....